Cycle done or delayed?

[zachSalty]

Hey all! I have a 13.5 EVO tank. It is going on 7 days old now. I have tested the water and specific gravity every day. Before getting into the specs, let me tell you what is in there:
Livestock:
Caribbean Live Sand
Roughly 10 lbs of aquacultured live rock (red algae and bristle worms living, and other critters).
Blue Leg Hermit Crab
Coarl Banded Shrimp (added yesterday per LFS advice of cycle situation see below)


Equipment
Standard filter and media that came with the tank
Fluval Mini Protien Skimmer
Fluval M50 Heater
Led White/Blue Light

Specs:
Everyday since the live rock was added and cured (day 2 of water and sand in the tank) I have tested the water. I had a sample taken to my LFS just to compare to make sure my testing kit is not bad. I have gotten

ph: 8.0
Ammonia: 0ppm
Nitrates: 0ppm
Nitrites: 0ppm
Specific Gravity (measured with a scope) 1.026

the LFS confirmed this as well. Any thought about the c

 

[Timfish]

I'm usually able to bypass the cycle using live sand and live rock. If it was my ssytem I'd be adding easy corals to help promote some of the other beneficial microbial processes, beside basic nitrification, essential for a reef ecosystem.

 

[brandon429]

Agreed

can you post pics of the aquarium with its bioload, we track skip cycle systems in another thread, yours will be that kind.


your tests are pristine too, rare for the ammonia to be so clearly low

usually what propels these threads out a few pages is claiming the cycle was skipped even when the ammonia vial is slightly greener than that. Some systems that are skip cycle still have enough active ammonia production and turnover that api ammonia registers that, appearing to stall. It may even do that later as you increase bioload but it’s not a stall it’s very sensitive overreporting going on

 

[zachSalty]

Agreed

can you post pics of the aquarium with its bioload, we track skip cycle systems in another thread, yours will be that kind.


your tests are pristine too, rare for the ammonia to be so clearly low

usually what propels these threads out a few pages is claiming the cycle was skipped even when the ammonia vial is slightly greener than that. Some systems that are skip cycle still have enough active ammonia production and turnover that api ammonia registers that, appearing to stall. It may even do that later as you increase bioload but it’s not a stall it’s very sensitive overreporting going on

 

[zachSalty]

Agreed

can you post pics of the aquarium with its bioload, we track skip cycle systems in another thread, yours will be that kind.


your tests are pristine too, rare for the ammonia to be so clearly low

usually what propels these threads out a few pages is claiming the cycle was skipped even when the ammonia vial is slightly greener than that. Some systems that are skip cycle still have enough active ammonia production and turnover that api ammonia registers that, appearing to stall. It may even do that later as you increase bioload but it’s not a stall it’s very sensitive overreporting going on

I took a picture of the aquarium. I am about to do testing on it now

 

[zachSalty]

I'm usually able to bypass the cycle using live sand and live rock. If it was my ssytem I'd be adding easy corals to help promote some of the other beneficial microbial processes, beside basic nitrification, essential for a reef ecosystem.

What kind of corals? Is it to much of an over load with the damsel?

 

[Saltysocks]

Best way to test your cycle imo is bring the ammonia up to a measurable amount and make sure the tank can clear it in a reasonable time

 

[brandon429]

The cycle above was skipped fully. We wouldn’t add ammonia nor bottle bac here, those are for dry rock systems.

the preference to add ammonia is indeed common-not one single cycling article written differentiates dry rock cycles from live rock transfer skip cycles from kp aquatics reverse curing cycles. That’s what rtr is for

also from the pics: any rock with visual benthic attachments like that algae above is 100% cycled. There are no spaces available for taking on extra dosed bacteria…the time it takes to form those attachments beyond dry rocks means the filter base came long before. Coralline establishes this the best of all benthic growths


in an uncycled tank that particular dilution and bioload would be cloudy total loss in 48 hours. With feeding, probably overnite.

A thread tracking pure skip cycle instant reefs, no bottle bac

THE GOLDEN EXAMPLE OF A SKIP CYCLE DAY 1 REEF https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/octo-high-end-sps-skip-cycle-build.713256/ read that entire thread before you read ours. that's the heart of skip cycling. Everything we do going forward in this thread reflects on that ability above, in the #1...

www.reef2reef.com

 

[zachSalty]

The cycle above was skipped fully. We wouldn’t add ammonia nor bottle bac here, those are for dry rock systems.

the preference to add ammonia is indeed common-not one single cycling article written differentiates dry rock cycles from live rock transfer skip cycles from kp aquatics reverse curing cycles. That’s what rtr is for

also from the pics: any rock with visual benthic attachments like that algae above is 100% cycled. There are no spaces available for taking on extra dosed bacteria…the time it takes to form those attachments beyond dry rocks means the filter base came long before. Coralline establishes this the best of all benthic growths

So from what I am understanding the cycle is complete? And I haven’t added any chemicals or bacteria to the tank just live things is it safe to add coral then? I’m just not wanting to overload the tank and accidentally generate a mini cycle or anything that would pose a risk to my little guys

 

[zachSalty]

The cycle above was skipped fully. We wouldn’t add ammonia nor bottle bac here, those are for dry rock systems.

the preference to add ammonia is indeed common-not one single cycling article written differentiates dry rock cycles from live rock transfer skip cycles from kp aquatics reverse curing cycles. That’s what rtr is for

also from the pics: any rock with visual benthic attachments like that algae above is 100% cycled. There are no spaces available for taking on extra dosed bacteria…the time it takes to form those attachments beyond dry rocks means the filter base came long before. Coralline establishes this the best of all benthic growths

What I really want is some nice coral and a clown fish and be done and let nature take its ride. Between bristle worms, coral banded shrimp, blue leg hermit crabs I think clean up crew wise is set yes? And fish wise there are two damsels in there. They have made there little caves under the rock. So much fun to watch then come in and out to eat!

 

[zachSalty]

I just tested the water. Zeros across the board

 

[brandon429]

When api gets it right, it does really well. I would have nothing to do all day long if that series of outcomes follows any cycle here


its the yellowest zero ammonia ever seen lol

 

[Timfish]

What kind of corals? Is it to much of an over load with the damsel?

I always start off with cheap. Corals are pulling the urea and ammonia generated by fish from the water. That sounds to me like they're part of the "bio filtration" not a load on it.

 

[zachSalty]

I always start off with cheap. Corals are pulling the urea and ammonia generated by fish from the water. That sounds to me like they're part of the "bio filtration" not a load on it.

Thank you for the help!!